Research Guides: A Guide to Teaching with OER, OA, Open, &amp; Free Materials: How to Adopt or Create

Choose Your Level of Use - Click a Tab Below

Select desired material, either through searching online and/or working with a librarian.
Verify copyright and licensing are appropriate for your course adoption. Talk to a librarian if you're not certain.
Complete the textbook adoption form from SHSU / Barnes and Noble, choose your course and then select the option “I’m not using any materials for this course.” Next, you’ll be prompted to select whether the course will use Open Educational Resources (OER). This requires only a Yes/No answer; you are not required to specify what materials you have chosen, so you can change or add materials as long as they remain no-cost. Finally, click "Submit Adoption." Now students will be able to tell from the course schedule that YOUR course has zero textbook costs.
Insert links in your syllabus, Blackboard course, etc.
Optional but recommended: Report your adoption of a textbook to the creator, such as OpenStax, to help them in demonstrating usage and value of the materials to funders/donors.

OER Adoption Impact Calculator
"helps you understand some of the impacts of adopting OER instead of commercial textbooks."

Identify existing resource(s) that you want to use as a starting point.
Verify copyright and licensing are appropriate for revising or remixing, depending on your goal. Talk to a librarian if you aren't certain.
Choose a software or file format to work in. Some online OER authoring tools are suggested below, but you can also just compile and edit content in Word and save it as a PDF if that's appropriate for your use.
Add existing content by means available, whether copying or importing within an OER platform or just copy-and-pasting from an existing document to your own.
Edit! Edit, delete, and reorganize existing content, and add your original contributions, however you see fit. Apply your expertise while using the existing work as a launchpad, and create the course material of your dreams.
Review and revise as needed. Consider asking a colleague in your subject department and/or a librarian if they can provide a review.
Publish? Decide whether you must or will publish your adaptation as a new OER. The licenses on some existing works may require you to "share alike"; if not, it's your choice, but sharing your new adaptation is still highly encouraged. To do so:
1. Add an open license. The exact license you choose will depend on what restrictions you do/don't want to place upon other users, but also may depend on restrictions set by the licenses of the remixed works. This part can get complicated, so talk to a librarian if you aren't certain what license to use.
2. Publish and share. In order for your work to be OER, you'll need to post it more broadly than SHSU Blackboard. You might post in OERTX, OER Commons, or another repository that is more appropriate for your discipline. Talk to a librarian if you'd like guidance in choosing where to share.
Share with students, and enjoy teaching the new material!

Modifying an Open Textbook: What you Need to Know
This is a five-step guide for faculty, and those who support faculty, who want to modify an open textbook. Step-by-step instructions for importing and editing common open textbook file and platform types are included. (Published by Open Textbook Network, Nov 2016.)
Adaptation Guide - BCcampus Open Education
A practical guide to adapting or revising open textbooks using the PressBooks platform. Included are tips to revising this OER, how to use the Pressbooks publishing platform, and general information on open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER).
Faculty OER Toolkit from BCcampus
The Faculty OER Toolkit is an information resource about and guide to adapting and adopting Open Educational Resources. Included are definitions and examples, information about Creative Commons licensing, and tips on how to adapt and/or adopt OER for classroom use.

Creative Commons for Educators and Librarians by Creative Commons [organization]
This book will help you understand how Creative Commons licenses work and how to apply them to your own work, whether its a remix of existing CC works or an entirely new composition.

Choose a software or file format to work in. Some online OER authoring tools are suggested below, but you could also just build content in Word and save it as a PDF if that's appropriate for your use.
Build content! Apply your expertise and create the course material of your dreams.
Review and revise as needed. Consider asking a colleague in your subject department and/or a librarian if they can provide a review.
Add an open license. The exact license you choose will depend on what restrictions you do/don't want to place upon other users. Talk to a librarian if you aren't certain what license to use.
Publish and share. In order for your work to be OER, you'll need to post it more broadly than SHSU Blackboard. You might post in OERTX, OER Commons, or another repository that is more appropriate for your discipline. Talk to a librarian if you'd like guidance in choosing where to share.

Educational Best Practices in Building OER
From Maricopa Community Colleges
Self-Publishing Guide - BCcampus Open Education
How to Mark Your Work with a CC License

Creative Commons for Educators and Librarians by Creative Commons [organization]
This book will help you understand how Creative Commons licenses work and how to apply them to your own work, whether its a remix of existing CC works or an entirely new composition.
Understanding Document Accessibility: A Reference for Creating Accessible Office Documents by Digital Education Strategies, The Chang School
Publication Date: Jan 2020

"Intended for a general audience, this free resource reviews a wide range of document authoring applications, including the tools they contain for creating accessible documents, and tests them to ensure they do not contain potential barriers. Learn how to create accessible word processed documents, spreadsheets, presentation slides, and PDF documents, among others, so they are accessible to everyone."
The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far) by Apurva Ashok; Zoe Wake Hyde; and Kaitlin Schilling
"The Rebus Guide to Publishing Open Textbooks (So Far) is a living repository of collective knowledge, written to equip all those who want to publish open textbooks with the resources they need."

Open Author from OER Commons
Free OER creation platform. Includes robust text editing, multimedia integration, and built-in accessibility checking.
PubPub
Collaborative publishing platform with free and paid service levels available.PubPub supports each part of the publishing process, from drafting documents, conducting peer review, and hosting entire journal and book websites, to collecting and displaying reader feedback and analytics.
Sigil
Free and open-source EPUB ebook editor; runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux
calibre
Free and open-source e-book manager with a built-in editor for EPUB and Kindle formats
LibreTexts Remixer
The OER Remixer tool allows the rapidly assemble of customized Remixes from existing sources on LibreText's comprehensive and ever-growing libraries.

Instructional Materials Toolkit
Helpful array of tools from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the Association of American Publishers (AAP):
- Selecting Quality Course Materials for Higher Education;
- Identifying Quality Course Materials;
- as well as K-12-specific checklists and an FAQ on OER.
Evaluation Criteria for Open Textbooks
From the American Institute of Mathematics
BC Open Textbooks Review Criteria
Suggested criteria by which to evaluate open textbooks.
Achieve OER Rubrics
Provides a set of rubrics to help determine how OER aligns to educational standards and determine other aspects of quality of OER. Although these rubrics are more geared towards K-12, they can still be helpful guides.

Scholarly Communications Librarian

Erin Owens

she/her/hers

Contact:

936-294-4567
eowens@shsu.edu
NGL 223D
ORCID: 0000-0001-9520-9314

I'm Creative Commons Certified! I can advise on CC licenses to reuse, remix, and publish open resources.

Subjects: OER: Open (or Free) Educational Materials, Scholarly Communication